my self-actualization as an artist started very early. I have a photo of my little artist self in front of an easel, paintbrush in hand. Boys and men were the only creatures to ever discourage me from my artist identity.
imagine hating on a soft Pisces femme who draws plush flesh, moonlight, medicinal flowers, mothers, breasts, mountains, ancestors, babies, water + the planets and telling her that her work is “too much” and people would never understand it. Telling me I should take another path is so diabolical.
I no longer worry about it anymore, Divine Mother will handle.
Beloved Black lesbian feminist socialist mother warrior poet Audre Lorde (and savior) once wrote: Your silence will not save you.
The art, the practice, the words ensure that I am not silent. Being intentional about building creative frameworks to uplift community, fully in their artistic power + autonomy is the energy moving forward. Regenerative, transformational energy, energy that can usher in positive shifts in our communities.
Artists create spaces of energy. Innerstand the energy u bring into the space. My gifts + my voice are currency. Together in community, we explore higher states of being thru a matrilineal lens, ancestral healing + memory, using art as a portal.
They are all rituals, making art to uplift the feminine energy’s protective influence on Mother Earth + to remind us of our cosmic roots.
Each pearmama zine volume 1-5 share a truth from the ancient heartspace as we reimagine indigenous futures + collective liberation. This healing and experimental zine series is created with love + strong heart energy.
This art offering is for those ready to break the colonial spell.
This art offering is for our young ones who love to color + enjoy the feel of a smol book in their hands.
This art offering is for young femmes, mother circles, homeschooling families, college students, art collectives + community gatherings.
All pearmama zines come with a digital download: A 8.5 x 11 size .pdf file for easy printing + folding.
As an artist + a storyteller, I have an innerstanding that my creative practice is deeply regenerative and very healing. It is for me, a gift my ancestors + the cosmos placed upon my head, blessing me. They gave me tools to be well and I have discovered art is that tool.
Some of my earliest memories are the dream-like worlds I created for myself while drawing, coloring + painting. Even my small child self quickly learned that making art made me feel good in my body.
My creativity is the first safe space I’ve ever known.
As a mother, a femme + indigenous person, creating art will always be about healing and liberation. Liberation from any thing or ideology that is not deeply rooted in love + community. Liberation from the mundane, liberation from fear, liberation from this world that often feels like a dream we are trying to escape.
When you are creating art you are communing with the divine + the vibration of the divine is one of healing. It is an open door for the soul to transmute and transcend, processing trauma from white supremacy, religious dogma, patriarchy, capitalism + colonization.
A community art offering for us all.
The intention of this mural is to honor and elevate the indigenous people of the Inland Empire, represented in the form of four grandmothers from following four tribes: Tongva, Payomkawichum (Luiseño), Cahuilla + Yuhaviaatam (Serrano), respectfully. We look to them as we protect our diverse cultures and steward our land, our medicine, our languages and ceremonial ways to nurture our children and our community.
May the four grandmothers serve as a reminder for all whose land they are standing on, to step with mindfulness, to step with care. The grandmothers will also serve as spiritual guardians for those who respect the divine feminine and Mother Earth, our oldest ancestor.
As a writer I’ve been weaving stories, blogging about family + culture on Pearmama since 2006. My online space has gone thru many incarnations and iterations, much like myself + the way I can marry my art and my writing has been a very delicious and satisfying discovery.
In that spirit, I created Corn Sister, a place to share spiritual truths from the ancient heartspace, Divine Mother cosmology + ancestral healing.